After prolonged use, stress-induced cracks may develop in the tooth tops of an electrical generator's rotor at locations near the ends of the rotor referred to as rotor-end sections. A conventional approach to repairing such cracks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,011 to Weigelt, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Weigelt discloses machining damaged teeth to remove large sections of stress-damaged material. The nature and extent of the machining disclosed in Weigelt makes it necessary to replace the generator's retaining rings. Replacing a generator's retaining rings adds significant cost and complexity to the repair of a generator.
A new approach to refurbishing generators is needed that facilitates the removal of stress-induced cracks in a generator's rotor teeth, without requiring the replacement of the generator's original retaining rings. A new design for newly-manufactured rotor-teeth is also needed for providing generators that are resistant to tooth-top stress-induced cracks and to extend the useful life of generators.